Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Headlines on USPTO Action on WARF patents

The interest in the first Office Action(s) in the re-exam of three WARF patents is immense.

Governor Doyle of Wisconsin gave a statement including the text: "There is no question that Wisconsin is and will remain at the forefront of stem cell research for many years to come. While other states are desperate to catch up with us, we will continue to expand on our leadership by building one of the world's premier research facilities - the Institutes for Discovery. In addition, Wisconsin currently has three other unchallenged stem cell patents, and our scientists have made discoveries that have lead to about 30 additional patent applications. As long as I am Governor, the state will aggressively invest in, support and nurture this research. Together, we can be the state that unlocks the cures to some of humanity's oldest and deadliest diseases, while creating tens of thousands of new jobs for our citizens."

Dr. Jeanne Loring co-directs the stem cell center at La Jolla's Burnham Institute. She says the move rejecting the patents is a relief.

Loring: We can now move forward without the fear of having WARF show up someday on our doorstep and say they own our discoveries.

The ruling by the U.S. patent office is subject to appeal. WARF officials say they plan to challenge the decision.

IPBiz notes that the USPTO issued a first Office Action, and now WARF gets its first chance to respond. This response is not an "appeal." If the USPTO issued a final rejection, then WARF could appeal to the BPAI.

Wired wrote: On Friday the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office tossed out three broad and controversial human embryonic stem cells patents. Scientists have complained for years that the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, or WARF, patents have slowed research.

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I'm a patent lawyer located in central New Jersey. I have a J.D. from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. from Stanford University, where I studied graphite intercalation compounds at the Center for Materials Research. I worked at Exxon Corporate Research in areas ranging from engine deposits through coal and petroleum to fullerenes. An article that I wrote in The Trademark Reporter, 1994, 84, 379-407 on color trademarks was cited by Supreme Court in Qualitex v. Jacobson, 514 US 159 (1995) and the methodology was adopted
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